Many frequently occurring physical problems today, such as muscular, sciatic and/or neuralgic pains, are directly related to the displacement of the pelvis at the level of the sacrum-lumbar articulation. This displacement, often caused by accidents, falls or excessive weight being carried with improper posture, causes a distortion of the skeleton and consequently alters the neuralgic network, which results in the previously mentioned physical problems. In such cases, the basic treatment and recuperative regimen for the patient is to correct the displacement of the pelvis, which is currently done through manual manipulations or through orthopedic tables with manual, hydraulic or pneumatic drives.
Manually operated orthopedic tables, while often useful in the treatment of the patient's spinal column, present the disadvantage during use of demanding a high level of physical effort from the physician or therapist in the simultaneous movement and force control of the movable seats commonly associated with such manual tables.
Hydraulic, manually driven orthopedic tables which impart vertical and horizontal movement to the patient, reduce somewhat the disadvantages of manually driven tables, yet still present various disadvantages such as inadequacy of the mechanical elements to perform all of the manipulative functions required. The complexity of the mechanism lends to the difficulty of its manufacture, increasing production costs, as well as increasing the number of articulating and movable mechanical elements. This yields a piece of equipment of excessive weight which demands frequent maintenance. Additionally, in order to provide appropriate therapy to the patient and to meet the requirements inherent to spinal column therapy--mainly to treat the problem of sciatic and lumbar pains--the physician must manually move a platform and pump unit, as well as the pistons, before the seat may be moved to the proper position. Additionally, these tables are typically over-designed, having a weight capacity up to five times that normally required to treat a patient, which also contributes to the high cost of the equipment.
Pneumatically driven orthopedic tables may produce horizontal and/or vertical movement in the patient and overcome some of the difficulties of a manually driven table, however, other disadvantages still exist. For example, in piston drives which arch the lumbar column, the arching results in certain discomfort and even pain. Since this area of the spinal column is the critical location of the ailment, the mere and simple arching can induce muscular contractions in the patient which are pain inducing. In tables which can move horizontally and vertically, the mechanisms are greatly complicated, requiring multiple pistons and other linkages and components in order to perform adequately.
It would therefore be greatly advantageous to provide a table which can induce the proper movement in the patient's pelvis and spine to treat the above-mentioned problems while utilizing a simplified, hydraulic drive system which results in reduced manufacturing cost and fewer maintenance problems. Such a table would simultaneously arch and traction the spinal column of the patient, reducing or eliminating undesired muscular contractions which cause pain and hinder treatment.